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Miami Dolphins locker room committee still hasn’t met

ORLANDO– When the Miami locker room harassment scandal was at its peak, team owner Stephen Ross formed a super committee of Dan Marino, Tony Dungy, Don Shula, Jason Taylor and Curtis Martin to try to clean up the Dolphins.

But four months later, the committee still hasn’t met as a group. Dolphins CEO Tom Garfinkel, speaking to reporters today at the NFL owners meetings in Orlando, said the team has spoken to individual committee members but that logistics have made it difficult to get the group together.

“They have given a lot of great advice so far on an individual basis,” Garfinkel said.

Code of conduct and respect are key themes at the owners meetings this week.

Garfinkel said he’s not sure what the league will do about creating a new code of conduct, but he said “internally there are a lot of things we’re taking a look at.”
“I know there are a lot of great people in the building that work hard,” he said. “I know that Coach Phiblin has fostered a culture of respect there and that’s very important to him. We’re looking at anyway we can to get better.”

Garfinkel, attending his first meetings since becoming Dolphins CEO in September, has been involved heavily in Miami’s new Sun Life Stadium renovation plan. The plan now calls for Ross to fund the renovations himself. In return the stadium would be owned by Miami-Dade County and the Dolphins would be exempt from paying property taxes. The Miami Heat and Miami Marlins have a similar setup, as do many other NFL teams.

But the Dolphins have met resistance from Miami Gardens which could lose revenue for schools from the property tax loss.

Garfinkel said the team is “still in the early stages” but that it is working to alleviate concerns from Miami Gardens.

“Miami Gardens is our neighbor,” he said. “We want to work with them to make sure we’re doing everything we can to make this work for everyone.”

South Florida will lose out on future Super Bowls until the renovation is complete. The NFL has already selected cities to host the 2015, 2016 and 2017 Super Bowls. Miami is out of contention for the 2018 Super Bowl and Garfinkel said the application process for the 2019 game begins this summer.

“It’s important in these situations that everybody works together to create a win-win for Dolphins fans and for South Florida,” he said. “These things just take some time. There are discussions that need to take place. I know it’s important to Steve to ensure that the Dolphins are in Florida for a long time to come.”